Special Report: Najib's SRC Trial: You have the power, but I have God, says former MACC director

TheEdge Thu, Aug 13, 2020 06:00pm - 3 years View Original


THE conviction of Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Tuesday elicited mixed emotions in Datuk Bahri Mohammad Zin, the former director of the Special Operations division of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Although glad that a conviction was secured, he regrets Najib’s fate.

The SRC International case provided the strongest evidence against Najib, and investigations by the MACC went ahead despite attempts by the police to derail them, Bahri told The Edge last week.

“During investigations in July 2015, it was the fasting month and my men did not go back to our homes for sahur. We stayed late in the office to gather evidence. All this was done discreetly,” he recalls. His division and MACC were part of the task force set up by then attorney-general Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail, comprising the police and Bank Negara Malaysia, to investigate 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), leading to raids on AmBank in Jalan Raja Chulan.

In August 2015, after former deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked as Najib’s deputy — Gani was removed several days earlier in late July — Bahri and several of his colleagues felt out in the cold, lone figures in the investigation of 1MDB and, more specifically, its subsidiary SRC International.

Bahri claims the police entrusted to investigate 1MDB had attempted to disrupt the investigations and tried to destroy the chain of evidence.

“Fortunately, the evidence gathered was kept safely. It resulted in my relying more on Allah and I made a promise to hunt down those who gave the directions to disrupt our probe.

“That made me say, ‘You may have the power, but I have Allah on my side.’ That was the reason for my strong defiance against Najib,” he said.

“Our deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Sazilee Abdul Khairi was arrested as early as 1am and placed in the lock-up, this was followed by the investigating officer (Rosli Hussain) and myself. Our office and homes were ransacked, computers removed. Can you imagine, we were doing our job with professionals from other departments and we were arrested.”

Ahmad Sazilee is now one of the deputy public prosecutors handling the graft, criminal breach of trust and money-laundering case against former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, whereas Rosli was retained as an investigating officer on the SRC case and is now Kelantan MACC director.

Following Bahri’s defiance and outspokenness, he, along with another MACC director, were transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department (PMD). Former Special Branch deputy director Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador was also transferred to the PMD.

Abdul Hamid (now Tan Sri) was later moved back to the police force after Pakatan Harapan won, and is now the Inspector General of Police.

Bahri says the MACC officers’ transfer to PMD was eventually withdrawn, following pressure.

“In late 2015, after interrogating Najib and providing the [completed] SRC report to then attorney-general Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali, MACC recommended that the former premier be charged. Apandi in a press conference on Jan 26, 2016, however, cleared Najib and stopped us from [further] investigation and gathering evidence overseas,” he says.

Disillusioned, he left the commission a year later, only to rejoin after he was recalled by the prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2018, and resumed investigations.

“I officially retired again last May. Tuesday’s verdict, it is the biggest gift for my retirement in my 37 years’ service in MACC. It also answered my prayers and my belief that ‘while you have power, I have Allah’.

“The past five years, I was subjected to ridicule and slander by Umno.

“Thank God, the judge, an independent entity, had found the former premier guilty, which I felt all along. My experience should serve as a reminder to all civil servants and elected representatives that they honour the people’s trust and that they are also being looked after by God.”

 

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